Detecting Chirality in Mixtures Using Nanosecond Photoelectron Circular Dichroism

We report chirality detection of structural isomers in a gas phase mixture using nanosecond photoelectron circular dichroism (PECD). Combining pulsed molecular beams with high-resolution resonance enhanced multi-photon ionization (REMPI) allows...

Plasma excited molecular beam epitaxy－proposal and achievements through R&D of compound semiconductor materials and devices－

This paper reviews 35 years of brief history on plasma-excited molecular beam epitaxy, focusing on special values added to conventional Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) through usage of plasma-excited molecular beams. These include low temperature surface cleaning, low temperature growth, selected area re-growth and impurity doping. These technologies are extremely important to realize nano-scale low-dimensional device structures. InN and In-rich InGaN are also highlighted as unique material systems, which plasma-excited MBE process is inevitable to grow. Future prospect of this technology will also be included from the device application viewpoints.

On the Utility of Coated POSS-Polyimides for Vehicles in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO)

The environment encountered by space vehicles in very low Earth orbit (VLEO, 180 – 350 km altitude) contains predominantly atomic oxygen (AO) and molecular nitrogen (N2), which collide with ram surfaces at relative velocities of ~7.5 km s-1. Structural, thermal-control, and coating materials containing organic polymers are particularly susceptible to AO attack at these high velocities, resulting in erosion, roughening, and degradation of function. Copolymerization or blending of a polymer with polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) yields a material that can resist AO attack through the formation of a passivating silicon-oxide layer. Still, these hybrid organic/inorganic polymers become rough through AO reactions as the passivating layer is forming. Surface roughness may enhance satellite drag because it promotes energy transfer and scattering angle randomization during gas-surface collisions. As potential low-drag and AO-resistant materials, we have investigated POSS-containing films of clear and Kapton-like polyimides that have an atomically smooth AO-resistant coating of Al2O3 that is grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD). Coated and uncoated films were exposed to hyperthermal molecular beams containing atomic and molecular oxygen to investigate their AO resistance, and molecular beam-surface scattering studies were conducted to characterize the gas-surface scattering dynamics on pristine and AO-exposed surfaces to inform drag predictions. The AO erosion yield of Al2O3 ALD-coated films is essentially zero. Simulations of drag on a representative satellite structure that are based on the observed scattering dynamics suggest that the use of the Al2O3 ALD-coated POSS-polyimides on external satellite surfaces have the potential to reduce drag to less than half that predicted for diffuse scattering surfaces. These smooth and AO-resistant polymer films thus show promise for use in the extreme oxidizing and high-drag environment in VLEO.

Equipment for growing semiconductor heterostructures in outer space

This article describes the features of the equipment developed at the Rzhanov Institute of Semiconductor Physics for conducting experiments on growing semiconductor heterostructures from molecular beams in outer space under the conditions of an orbital flight of the International Space Station. Working out the processes of epitaxy of semiconductor films in outer space will allow us to grow complex semiconductor structures with sharp boundaries, which serve as the basis for the creation of solar cells, as well as devices of modern microwave, optoand microelectronics. Cascade photovoltaic converters based on such multilayer heterostructures of A3B5 semiconductor compounds have high efficiency and radiation resistance and, therefore, are most widely used for the manufacture of space solar cells. The high efficiency of such batteries is due to the wide spectral range in which solar radiation is effectively absorbed and used in photovoltaic conversion.